scholes, as you rightly point out, was also a total bust when it came to infusing the midfield any sort of forward impetus. everytime he received the ball he either killed the pace or sent his team mates up a dead-end. add that to his inability to score and it's hard to see why he is still an automatic selection.
on a more positive note, the defensive display was superb and the only way the french seemed likely to score was via a dead-ball situation - or two...
hopefully, this resilience at the back will see us safely through the qualifying stage - along with a starting line-up that has vassell starting in place of owen.